


The Big Tree, It Fell

by liketogetlost



Category: Never Let Me Go - Kazuo Ishiguro
Genre: Films, Gen, Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-05-04
Updated: 2011-05-04
Packaged: 2017-10-19 00:12:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,185
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/194774
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/liketogetlost/pseuds/liketogetlost
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ruth sneaks Tommy into their quarters one night. <br/><i>Ruth looks at Tommy from her bed as if considering what to do with him next. Kathy wonders if Tommy thinks he's here for doing it. She figures Ruth probably has no idea what to do now, that the very idea was just to see if she could sneak him in.</i></p>
            </blockquote>





	The Big Tree, It Fell

Tommy's not wearing any socks.

This is the first thing Kathy notices about him when he quietly walks into their quarters and sits between her bed and Ruth's. It's probably an odd thing to notice, but Kathy realizes she's never seen Tommy's bare feet before.

“Where are your socks, Tommy?” Kathy asks, her tone amused and hushed so that the other girls don't wake to find a boy there during such late hours. No one would tell, but then no one would leave him alone either.

Tommy shrugs and grins shyly, drawing his knees up to his chest and leaning back against the night table she shares with Ruth.

Ruth slides under her sheets quietly and smiles over at Kathy as if to say 'mission completed'. Kathy hadn't been too keen on the idea of sneaking Tommy in, but Ruth had gotten the idea into her head days before and once she set out to do something she usually got it done.

“We should see if we can get Tommy to visit us some night.” Ruth had said, with a challenging tilt to her voice as if she was testing Kathy.

Kathy had just laughed and shaken her head. “I'm sure it wouldn't take much convincing.” But it's against the rules, is what she hadn't said.

Not that they would get into too much trouble. It seems no one at Hailsham ever gets punished more severely than having a few privileges taken away or getting a good lecture in front of their friends.

Still, Kathy almost enjoys the rules and following them. It keeps them all in check.

Tommy looks nervous, but then Tommy always looks nervous. He's grinning a bit stupidly, so much so that it makes Kathy giggle into her pillow. Tommy looks over at her and grins some more, like he knows what joke she's laughing about.

There's a chill in the air. It never seems warm enough at night, only during the summer when the all the girls usually sleep without sheets, bare legs peeking out from beneath their dressing gowns. It's scary quiet, save for some soft snoring from the other side of the room. Bed checks have passed. The chances of them getting caught are slim.

Ruth looks at Tommy from her bed as if considering what to do with him next. Kathy wonders if Tommy thinks he's here for doing it. She figures Ruth probably has no idea what to do now, that the very idea was just to see if she could sneak him in.

“What if someone wakes up?” Tommy whispers to Kathy. Ruth watches her face.

“We should play the whisper game.” Ruth says, and Tommy finally turns to her.

“That's a baby game, Ruth. And you can't play it with three people.” Kathy remembers playing it when they were all quite young. Sitting outside on the grass in a circle and turning whispers around and around until the last person to hear them said them aloud. They'd always laugh with glee at how absurd the phrases ended up sounding.

Ruth just shakes her head and gestures to Tommy, turning him at the chin and saying something against his ear.

Tommy bites his bottom lip and turns to Kathy, glancing at her face. Kathy just tilts her head and waits.

“Ruth says we can talk through Tommy to keep quiet.”

Tommy's breath is warm on her ear, his cupped hand gently hovering near her head. His eyes look shiny when he pulls away.

Kathy rolls her eyes over at Ruth before whispering to Tommy.

“This is stupid. Tommy doesn't want to play at being our telephone.”

“It's okay, Kath.” Tommy's curling his toes against the cold floor. Kathy keeps thinking he really should be wearing socks.

“Tommy, you're supposed to _whisper_ it.” Ruth reaches over and pulls him close, watching Kathy with amused eyes.

There's a moment of hesitation, and then Tommy's leaning over, one hand gripping the side of her bed.

It's so strange having him in her space like this.

“Mandy T. sounds like she has a pig in her nose.”

Kathy can't help but giggle and Ruth presses her face into her pillow to stifle herself. It's all incredibly juvenile, but fun nonetheless.

They continue on that way for a while, talking about different girls in their year and Tommy eagerly going back forth between them like a puppy playing fetch. Even when he doesn't know what they're talking about he still laughs, holding his hand over his mouth, hair falling into his eyes.

Ruth whispers something to him and his face turns crimson from his neck to his ears. Kathy's stomach drops a little.

Tommy pauses before cupping both hands around Kathy's ear and breathing Ruth's words.

Kathy has to strain to hear him, his whisper lower than ever and his voice shaking a bit. “I think Tommy had thought we'd brought him here for sex stuff, Kath. He must be disappointed.”

Kathy pulls a face. “ _Ruth_.”

Ruth shakes her head and holds a finger to her lips.

Kathy sighs, shifting in her bed and leaning over get closer to Tommy, just short of actually touching him.

“You should go back to bed, if you don't want to play anymore.”

Ruth sits up a little, waiting for Tommy to come over but he turns back to Kathy.

“It's alright, Kath. I know I can go if I like. It's fun here, with you. Both.” And Tommy smiles at her, looking over her face and down to her neck where Kathy realizes her gown has slid down a bit. She adjusts herself and can't help but grin back at Tommy. She leans over to him.

“You have longer toes than I'd imagined.”

Tommy has to cover his face with both hands as they both erupt in a fit of awkwardly contained laughter.

Kathy catches Ruth's eye which has gone blank in the way it does when she's annoyed. “That's not the game. Tommy, you're doing it all wrong.” But she doesn't look away from Kathy as she speaks. “You should just go to bed if you're not going to do it right.” Ruth lays down, her head bouncing off the pillow roughly. “It's a stupid game anyway, I don't know why I thought it would be fun.”

Kathy and Tommy both go silent. The only sound in the room is their labored breathing after laughter and Mandy T.'s snoring.

Tommy just nods and stands, stopping as Ruth grabs his hand and pulls him down. Kathy makes busy with her blankets while they kiss goodnight, the slight pop of their lips almost echoing in the big room.

At the door, Tommy turns, his shoulders sagging and his head cast down. Kathy waves one finger over the top of her blanket and he waves back with a smile before he quietly goes out the door.

With Tommy gone, the room seems even darker which makes Kathy even sleepier. She yawns and throws a whispered goodnight across to Ruth, but her eyes are closed like she's already fallen asleep.

Kathy sighs, and rolls over.


End file.
